Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will - Essay Example

Human obesity is not caused merely by a weak will Introduction According to the guidelines, as delineated by World Health Organization (WHO), a person with body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25 is marked as ‘overweight,’ while those with BMI equal to or higher than 30 are marked as ‘obese’ (World Health Organization, 1998, 9)…

Extract of sample"Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will"

Download file to see previous pages
The UK government in its Foresight programme (2007) recorded a rapid rise in the number of overweight and obese people in Britain, and at an average estimate predicted that by 2050 more than 50% of the UK adult population would become overweight or obese (Foresight, 2007, 5). The recent spurt in global obesity has led to the derivation of a number of factors related to environmental determinants of this epidemic, amongst which eating habits driven by food marketing and reduction in physical activities due to technological advancement, are considered the two major causes (the ‘Big Two’). Despite the popularity amongst of these two factors, it is necessary that other causal factors of obesity are also identified, since an overall understanding of all probable factors are necessary, in order to control this global health hazard. Discussion Mechanisms that control human appetite or regulates feeding pattern For appropriate regulation of body weight, there must be a good coordination between intake of food and energy output. The current global epidemic of overweight and obesity is owing to the fact that energy requirements of a human are very near to his/her BMI, thus, allowing it to be easily crossed, making it necessary to focus on appetite control. This function of controlling feeding or appetite is performed by hypothalamus, located between pituitary and thalamus in the brain (Legg and Booth, 1994). Neuron clusters are present within the hypothalamus and one such cluster (arcuate nucleus), forms to be the appetite centre. The arcuate nucleus controls the hormones and metabolites through the vagus nerve, while regulating metabolism through the coordination of adipose tissue, intestines, kidneys, and liver activities. Hypothalamus, which controls feeding while coordinating it with appropriate amount of energy expenditure by the body is, therefore, indirectly responsible for maintaining body weight, by balancing physical activities with the amount the food to be eaten (Logue, 2004). Appetite centre is comprised of primary neurons (that control hormonal and metabolite levels), and secondary neurons that after receiving information from the primary neurons, regulate body functions. The primary neurons have cells that can stimulate hunger via production of agouti-related peptide or AgRP and neuropeptide or NPY. It is also comprised of cells that can supress hunger by production of proopiomelanocortin or POMC. Therefore, either activation of AgRP or NPY or stopping the production of POMC can bring about a feeling of hunger (Smith, 1998). Various hormones play major roles in control feeding via the appetite centre. One such hormone is ghrelin, which activates NPY/AgRP and stimulates hunger. The arcuate nucleus also reacts to the hormones leptin and insulin, and here it is seen that insulin suppresses appetite by stopping AgRP or NPY producing neurons and by activating POMC producing neurons. Leptin levels respond to the levels of body fat, and observations reveal that there is an increase in circulating levels of leptin within obese individuals (Schwartz and Morton, 2002). Leptin may suppress appetite by activating inhibitory neurons; however, the arcuate nucleus may also become leptin-resistant. Individuals who are overweight or obese are often seen to possess high levels of leptin, but arcuate nucleus often fails to respond to such high levels. Aberration in the
...Download file to see next pagesRead More

Tags

(“Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay”, n.d.)
Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/biology/1454341-citing-evidence-from-the-human-and-animal

(Human Obesity Is Not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay)
Human Obesity Is Not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay. https://studentshare.org/biology/1454341-citing-evidence-from-the-human-and-animal.

“Human Obesity Is Not Caused Merely by a Weak Will Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/biology/1454341-citing-evidence-from-the-human-and-animal.

The condition not only affects adults but has now been largely seen in children too. It results from the inactive lifestyle and decreased physical activities along with an increased consumption of fats (Biddle et al 2009). Over the years the condition has further spread all over the world increasing the incidence of the pathological state.

Researchers have predicted this number to exceed nine billion by 2050. Population growth is harmless within a given region, if the natural resources are sufficiently enough to support human life. However, when the natural resources cannot sustain human growth and development, then there is a risk of overpopulation.

People suffering from obesity have serious health problems, especially diabetes, hypertension and cardiac anomalies. The seriousness of the health issue posed by obesity to a country’s population is becoming widespread in many other nations. The condition was noted not only in the US where it was prevalent, but also in other Western nations like Britain and Canada.

In the first case, the reason for obesity is psychological while in the second, purely sociological. Before venturing into this kind of comparing different information bases of obesity, it is important to have a clear idea of what is meant by obesity. One definition for obesity provided by the National Health Service (NHS) website at http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Introduction.aspx has been that it is “when a person is carrying too much body fat for their height and sex” and an adult individual is counted as obese if he/she has a body mass index (BMI) of “30 or greater.” James and Linton (2008) has defined obesity in more simple word as “an excess of body fat” (p.94).

The BMI is a measure of the ratio of weight to height. According to the World Health Organization (WHO); a BMI of 25 kilograms per meter indicates being overweight, whereas one above 30 kilograms per meter indicates obesity. The people whose BMI range falls between 25 and 30 are considered pre-obese.

Rapid global climate change is the major consequence of this global warming. Increasing concentration of several greenhouse gases due to several unethical human activities, such as high consumption of fossil fuel and deforestation is causing unequivocal warming of global climate system.

Eating disorders take various forms among individuals. One of the rampant instances of eating disorders that translate into obesity is binge eating. Binge eating is a behavior among obese individuals whereby they adopt eating habits that involve eating in the night. Community studies conducted revealed that binge-eating rates are high among obese eating adults as opposed to normal weight adults.

(BBC News, 2007)
In the case of UK, as much as 23% of its population are obese. (Lister, 2005) The cases of obesity and overweight among the adult individuals in UK have doubled since the mid-1980s wherein approximately 25% and 20% of men and women are obese.

Presently, both challenges and opportunities are numerous. A major challenge is the discovery of the policies, programs, or intervention strategies whose impact is the greatest. This needs a large scale research and more funding by the government than what is presently available to the researchers.

The victims of these injustices are mainly the weak, poor and marginalized segments in the society. In the spirit of promoting sustainable development in these countries, addressing the past injustices meted on the victims becomes of paramount importance.

8 Pages(2000 words)Essay

GOT A TRICKY QUESTION? RECEIVE AN ANSWER FROM STUDENTS LIKE YOU!

TRY US!

sponsored ads

Save Your Time for More Important Things

Let us write or edit the essay on your topic
"Human Obesity is not Caused Merely by a Weak Will"
with a personal 20% discount.